Ford's Fish Shack

The waiter didn’t smile.

In fact, few of the employees seemed to want to be there at all. Right behind our table, a woman counted money behind a computer. Her eyes were sully enough to make you think that the fish she’d been bringing to the customers had violated her in some unspeakable way.

The gloomy nature of the workers matched the atmosphere, at least where we were sitting. According to the menu of Ford’s Fish Shack, the original goal back in 2010 was to “create a comfortable and friendly fish shack like the many that are scattered along the New England Coast”. Often, one does not accomplish this goal with dim, scattered lights barely illuminating a pitch-black grid of ventilation and piping systems across the ceiling that looks like a set of repurposed prison bars. A semblance of joy echoed from the music and the football game that were playing from the speakers and TV at the bar, but these were too faint to be heard clearly anywhere else.

It wasn’t completely dismal. When we first walked in, the host flashed us a quick smile and promptly directed us to a table. She was kind enough to reseat us twice so that we could get a clean table by the window. Unfortunately, she seemed to be the exception rather than the norm.

What the restaurant lacked in mood, however, was overall made up for by the food.

It wasn’t perfect, of course. The calamari was mildly disappointing, to say the least. Instead of being crisp and delightful, they were simply bland, stringy circles that relied too much on the miniscule amount of runny sauce that accompanied them. You might as well just chew on a wet shoelace. The breaded bell peppers that the calamari was served with were, for some odd reason, surprisingly bitter and gave me the impression that I was biting into my own skin, which I might have even preferred. The clam chowder, although it looked pretty, wasn’t actually the rich soup any of us expected. Instead, it was more like a thick, chunky mass of lukewarm oatmeal.

On the whole, however, the food was wonderful. Well-cooked, crunchy asparagus was a pleasant add-on to the zesty, savory garlic shrimp even if the coleslaw it was served on definitely tasted like a decoration, being more akin to shredded paper than anything else. The “Angry Mussels” were apparently angry enough to just fall out of their shells into the accompanying tomato soup. Sometimes, a shell would contain nothing but a piece of chewy ham. The mussels that did remain were tender and flavorful, pairing extremely well with the soup. The soup also served to soften and enrich the already well-seasoned garlic bread, turning each slice into a dripping glob of bliss.

Following our appetizers were the highlights of my day. Despite not being the cheeriest man on the planet, our server was nice enough to recommend two main courses, both of which were fantastic. The baked potato halibut was one of the most unique dishes I had eaten in my life. The succulent halibut coated in a bold, baked potato crust that came with delicate spinach and a creamy sauce all combined to form something that I can only describe as tasting like a balmy summer’s day, placing each of my taste buds in ecstasy. The marinated tomatoes were a more than welcome addition to the plate, quite literally bursting with juicy flavor in my mouth. “Blackened Sea Scallops” initially sounded unappetizing, but they turned out to be the tenderest scallops I had ever bitten into. They weren’t “blackened” but rather lightly charred to perfection; each one felt like a cloud on my tongue and tasted like a dream that I had finally achieved. The pasta under the scallops paled in comparison, tasting more like a school lunch drizzled with monotony rather than a real sauce, but I suppose good pasta at a seafood restaurant is too much to ask for.

I didn’t believe that the restaurant had much more to offer me, but dessert was a work of art. “The first bite is with the eyes” is a phrase that is sometimes thrown around in cuisine, and Ford’s Fish Shack certainly followed it to a T with the banana pudding. It could have been a professional cupcake in a design contest, decorated with chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream, sprinkled with graham cracker bits. Off to the sides were two halves of a banana drizzled with caramel that looked as if they were meant to be the wings of an angel, and they certainly tasted heavenly. The pudding itself was everything you would want in a dessert. It was sweet, creamy, and satisfying- a guilty pleasure straight from paradise.

While the food is splendid, Ford’s Fish Shack does not have much else going for it. The 2010 vision of a “neighborhood restaurant with an outstanding seafood selection served by a friendly staff” wasn’t fully realized. Each waiter looked like he or she wanted to jump straight into the ocean that the scallops were coming from, and our glasses weren’t refilled a single time. Additionally, the experience felt less like dining in a friendly shack than it felt like sitting in a void far removed from reality. Perhaps decent lighting would have helped the staff out a bit.

One might argue that at a restaurant titled “Ford’s Fish Shack”, you shouldn’t expect much other than good seafood (and maybe good dessert).

I agree wholeheartedly.

Ford’s Fish Shack South Riding

25031 Riding Plaza

Unit 150

Chantilly, VA, 20152